Associations between parental relocation following separation in childhood and maladjustment in adolescence and young adulthood

Bibliographic Data

ID12434779
AuthorsMatthew M Stevenson (0000-0001-6232-0745, University of Michigan, corresponding author), William V Fabricius (Arizona State University), Sanford L Braver (Arizona State University), Jeffrey T Cookston (0000-0002-6628-5497, San Francisco State University)
Year2018
Volume24
Issue3
Pages365-378
Publication date2018-05-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology Public Policy and Law (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1076-8971 • E-ISSN: 1939-1528
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/law0000172
PMID30410297
OpenAlexW2804109001
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited7

Petitions by custodial parents to relocate children away from non-custodial parents present difficult choices for family courts. In the current study, the sample (N = 81) was randomly recruited through the children's schools according to the following criteria: Children were 12 years old and at the time resided primarily with their mothers; mothers had been living with a male partner "acting in a father role" for at least the previous year. Thirty-eight children had been separated by more than an hour's drive from their biological fathers due to either their mothers or fathers relocating. The data were collected from two reporters (children and mothers) at five time points (child ages 12.5, 14, 15.5, 19.5, and 22) by trained interviewers using standardized measures with adequate reliability and validity. Long-distance separation from biological fathers prior to age 12 was linked in adolescence and young adulthood to serious behavior problems, anxiety and depression symptoms, and disturbed relationships with all three parental figures (i.e., biological fathers, mothers, and step-fathers). These associations held after controlling for mother-stepfather conflict and domestic violence, mothers' family income, and mother-biological father relationship quality. These longitudinal findings over time replicated the cross-sectional findings of Braver, Ellman, and Fabricius (2003) and Fabricius and Braver (2006). Policy implications for parental long-distance relocation following separation are discussed

Anxiety · Developmental psychology · Psychiatry · Relocation · Separation (statistics · Child Welfare and Adoption · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology

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